Faith
by HaryPotter
Summary: Ginny goes back to Hogwarts, knowing that everything is different, knowing that she must be strong, knowing that she must have faith, knowing that it's down to her to lead the army into rebellion. Which army? Dumbledore's Army.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 – Wait.**

Ginny sat on her bed staring out of her bedroom window. She could see the fields and the drive, deep welts in the mud where the Ford Anglia used to reside. She could see the spot where her friends had vanished on the patch of slightly yellow grass from the shade of the marquis under which her eldest brother had been married the previous day. She had been restricted to her room for almost 17 hours and hunger was beginning to gnaw at her insides. She knew better than to disobey her mother in such a serious situation however, and remained where she was. She could hear hushed voices from the room above where Fred and George were waiting, and a silence resounded through the floor boards in the absence of the shouting of Death Eaters which had echoed through them the previous night. It was a long night. They had taken the family and interrogated them one by one – all except for Ron as they believed him to be dying, in a bed below the loft, of Splattergroit. One of the scariest experiences of Ginny's life thus far had been sitting in her dark kitchen surrounded by Death Eaters – all masked – whilst they asked her intimate questions about Harry and their relationship, did she know where he was, what he was doing, who he was with…she said nothing. She knew nothing! After an hour, some Cruciatus curse and begging from her mother – Molly – they allowed her to return to her room. She hadn't left since.

The sun was starting to rise now. Harry consumed every thought of Ginny's; the same questions the Death Eaters had asked. Where was he? What on earth was he doing that was this important? And were Ron and Hermione his only help? She wished she could have gone with them but as Harry had said – it was too dangerous and she didn't know enough. Everyone else had a reason for her to stay at home, and all she wanted was to help him.

"Ginny!"  
She crossed the room in two steps and wrenched the door open, flinging herself onto the staircase outside.  
"Mum?" she called in response. Two ginger heads appeared over the banister above her, and then another a little further up, and last, Bill and Fleur looked over. Mrs Weasley was stood at the bottom of the stairs.  
"They've gone. Come down and I'll make some breakfast. Has anyone seen…" she paused, looked around for a moment nervously, "Ron?" she whispered the last part as though worried they were being spied on. Everyone shook their heads silently. She looked tense and like a nervous wreck that might fall apart at any moment. Ginny started down the stairs as quickly as possible, rushing to help her mum to a chair and help her make some breakfast as the others made their way down.  
"Mum, where's dad?" she asked tentatively as she set a mug of steaming fire-whiskey (it seemed appropriate) in front of Molly.  
"Oh, he's fine. They said that if he was truly loyal to the ministry then he should be working from normal time, no matter the special family occasion. He went with them. I don't think they'll hurt him with no proof we've been…" she stopped again. "anyway, they do still suspect us so we'll have to be careful."  
"Of course." said Fred behind them. The others had gathered in the kitchen and were starting to put together some food, letting Molly have a rest for a change.

Once there were some eggs and bacon on the table alongside a sizable helping of toast, and everyone was sitting down, more morbid and eating less than usual, Charlie raised the question they had all been thinking. "So, what happens now?"  
"We go about as normal. Ginny, you go to Hogwarts on the first of September as usual, George, Fred – either run your joke shop or do what you want to do _discretely_ and Bill, you and Fleur had better go to your new house, I can send you instructions from the order from there. Charlie…you need to spread the word. The Order _will go on!_ We have to help Harry in any way we can, now that Voldemort is getting stronger, and in control at the ministry, there's so much we can do and so little time to do it, it's the least we can do to try. You are travelling most of the time, you have connections." She seemed to be throwing caution to the wind; else she had decided that there was no point in worrying about spies as everyone knew them as blood traitors anyway. "This is the least we can do." She said again. They all nodded, except Ginny who was frowning.  
"What are these instructions from the order for Bill and Fleur? And why do I have to go to Hogwarts? That place is going to be hell now that Dumbledore's…not around. And you can bet Voldemort will target it. There's so much to do I can help! Mum-"  
"No Ginny, Hogwarts is the safest place for you. You are underage and can't perform magic outside school legally, you still have the trace. And people will notice you're missing from Hogwarts, if you're seen outside school it'll only be obvious what you're up to. It could jeopardise the entire family. You have to go to Hogwarts. Besides, you might be able to help from within! There's bound to be pro-Voldemort propaganda floating around, you can help by inspiring people to stay strong, stay together, and help Harry Potter! Ginny he'd want you to be safe."  
Ginny thought about it for a moment. "I bet Neville's not going." She muttered.  
"Ginny Weasley you thank Merlin you are not Neville Longbottom! And I know his grandmother – he'll be going back.  
There was silence for a few moments following this speech. They were disturbed by a sharp rapping on the window and Fred and George both sprang to their feet. Lupin was stood right outside the window, looking hesitantly over his shoulder and imploring them with his eyes to open the door. Fred hurried forwards and opened the door a crack with his wand in his hand.  
"The name I got tattooed on my ankle in the fifth year that you helped me remove at midnight?" he asked quietly. Molly frowned disapprovingly.  
"Angelina." Lupin said in a hushed voice and slipped inside. George grinned at his brother discretely and as Fred sat back down Ginny heard them kick each other under the table.  
"Molly, I've news. Probably the kids, but don't worry they weren't found. No one's actually seen them, but a report was made of a mugging and vandalism spree in London in a small café. There were three of them, teenagers, and they beat up and knocked out two fully grown men then trashed the place. And the waitress that was on a shift that night was screaming all sorts of things when she turned up at the police department – they were waving about sticks and the lights were flashing apparently. My guess is that the two men are death eaters and since there's no trace of the kids, I'd say they took off. According to the ministry report I intercepted, two innocent men were left with no memory and in a full body bind curse. If death eaters had got hold of the kids, they wouldn't have just left two of their own at the scene would they? And there'd be more of a sign of a struggle…Harry wouldn't let them take Ron and Hermione without a fight would he? You know what he's like. My guess is they're hiding somewhere. Arthur sent a patronus as soon as he was alone telling them everyone's ok. Molly they aren't stupid. Harry acts before he thinks which will come in handy if he's up against an opponent, Ron's one of the most loyal friends I've ever seen and he'll keep Harry grounded, and Hermione's the cleverest witch of her age. They've all proved themselves before in situations similar to this. I know they're safe, and I know they'll stay safe. Don't worry Molly."  
"How can I not worry Remus?"  
"Mum…think about it- " Fred said in an upbeat tone that he must have thought would lighten the mood.  
"If anything happens to Ron- " George continued,  
"You've got six other kids- "  
"So there's replacements- "  
"Yeah, not like it's Gin, she's the only one- "  
"mind you Perce doesn't really count anymore- "  
"So really it's more like five replacements. Four minus Ginny."  
"But keep your head up he's stupid enough to get through this."  
Ginny frowned at them both. "You aren't helping." She muttered.  
"Just trying to diffuse the tension." Fred said in a sort of sing-song voice.  
"I'll make more tea." Charlie piped up. "Staying Remus?" he asked as he flicked his wand and the kettle flew across the kitchen under the now streaming tap.  
"No, no, Nymphadora hasn't been well this morning, not since last night…we hardly got any sleep. I came out at dawn to try and find out what's going on and I only came to bring the news here on my way home. George is right, Ron'll be fine. He'll get through this. He's probably more worried about you than you are about him right now." Lupin got up and made for the door. "I'll keep in touch." He said, and then he was gone. He turned on the spot as soon as he left the house.

"You'd all better get some sleep." Molly said. "You've been up since this time yesterday. Go on, go to bed. Don't give me that look William, I'll be up in a minute."  
Ginny rose and headed for the stairs. As she passed the clock, she glanced at it out of habit. All of the hands were at home except for Arthur's whose head was pointed at "Work" and Ron's whose head, to her dismay, was set firmly at "Mortal Peril."


	2. Chapter 2

_**I don't normally do authors notes because most of the time I find them annoying – but this is too cool I had to share! Guess what I just worked out! Xenophillius is like Xenophiles – which means attracted to different peoples or cultures! (most of you intelligent people probably worked that out already…aren't you clever. And I know you're intelligent because you are reading my AMAZING fan fiction :P check out the story "A Blackened Heart" by nineandthreequarters23 it's a very good fiction ;P) – I've started to ramble now, and as I said I find authors notes annoying, so I'll love you and leave you. Review please … just so I know the love is mutual! 3**_

Chapter 2

The build-up to returning to Hogwarts had never been the same for Ginny as it was entering her sixth year; every other year it had been filled with excitement at the prospect of seeing everyone again, what hair-brained schemes would Luna come up with this year, would Neville finally ask Luna out…but this year it was filled with anticipation and fear. The Weasleys couldn't safely leave the house for more than a few hours as known blood traitors and in league with Harry Potter. Speaking of the man himself, there had been no word of him from anyone. Fred had been talking to his friend Lee Jordan about starting a magical radio station to inform people about the resistance, but every time Molly got wind of this she shouted them both down and banned talk of 'such nonsense' in her house. Lee stopped coming round; the twins went to him instead.

Ginny found herself sat again on her bed, gazing out the window waiting. This time she was waiting for a lift to kings cross station. There was no one else going with her to Hogwarts this year. Luna was the closest person, and Xenophillius was going to walk from his house to the burrow and collect Ginny so that the Weasleys didn't have to leave the house unnecessarily. When he asked with his head in the fire through the flu network, why Ron wasn't attending, Molly told him that her youngest son was dying in his bed of splattergroit, feigned some tears, and said she was sure he would pull through, but for now he had to stay where he was, and severed the communication. It wasn't hard for her to feign tears anymore. Arthur would stay later and later at the ministry, Bill and Fleur had moved to their new home and Charlie was in some foreign country spreading news of Voldemort undercover. They didn't know precisely where he was as communication was becoming increasingly difficult for witches and wizards inside Britain. Voldemort was getting a tighter grip, and still Harry was nowhere to be seen.

A sharp rap on the door announced the arrival of the most eccentric man in the wizarding world. Ginny jumped up, grabbed her cloak from the wardrobe and made down the stairs. Molly and Arthur were welcoming Xenophillius into the house with some security questions, and Fred and George were sat at the kitchen table talking quietly with their heads together. They all looked her way as she entered the kitchen dragging the trunk she'd left at the foot of the stairs.

"Ginny, you must promise me you'll look after yourself this year. Things will be so different, you…you have to…they won't stand for any of the usual…Ginny Snape's the head this year."  
It felt like a stone had fallen into Ginny's stomach as she contemplated this thought. That meant that the death eaters really were in control at Hogwarts. But the plan stood. She would do everything she could for Harry.

"Course mum. Don't worry about me. I love you. And I'll see you at Christmas." Ginny kissed her parents and waved to her brothers who got up and hugged her tightly. Then she followed Xenophillius out the door, away from her parents and brothers…away from safety…to Hogwarts.

Luna was waiting at the end of the long drive. Ginny immediately thought that it seemed unwise and unsafe for her to be left alone – but then her guardian was the man who believed in the crumplehorned snorkack…it seemed unlikely he also believed in real life situations such as evil death eaters and things that could kill or kidnap Luna. The friends hugged.  
"Hello Ginevra. It's been such a long time since I saw you last, I do hope you haven't grown glabergroids in your throat! They can seriously affect your breath making it poisonous to people you spend the most time with which could be hazardous to my health…" Luna said in her slightly dreamy voice which removed all validity to whatever point she happened to be making. Ginny smiled sweetly and tried not to laugh. One of the benefits of having a crazy friend was that you were constantly amused. Xenophillius was stood at the top of a near-by hill, gazing into the distance, so Luna and Ginny climbed up after him and when they got to the top, he held out his hands.  
"Ginny, have you ever tried side-along apparation before?" Luna asked excitedly. Ginny shook her head and Luna made a kind of ohhh noise and began to describe it with great enthusiasm. "It's kind of like drinking bug-weed potion, you're head pounds for a while after and it's like having your entire body squeezed very tight. You're organs don't really stay in the same place, and if I were you I'd hold my breath. I love it!"  
Ginny took hold of Xeonophillius's outstretched hand and closed her eyes, held her breath, and begged every spirit she'd ever heard of to make it a more pleasant experience than what Luna had just described.

It was not, any more pleasant.

The simplest way to describe what happened next, was that Luna's father held very tight to Ginny's right hand, and then pulled her violently and quickly through a vacuum cleaner. (for those of you non-muggles out there, a vacuum cleaner is something Mr Weasley once dissected in the kitchen of the burrow, and is most likely used by muggles for fetching things from a distance. There is a box which collects what you want, and a long wriggly thing that can extend…and when you plug it into ecletricity, it makes a loud noise and sucks what you're pointing it at into the box. Molly didn't like it.)

Ginny's feet hit the ground hard and she stumbled a little. When she found her balance she realised they had arrived in a small, thankfully deserted, waiting room at kings cross. She hitched her trunk upwards so that she had a better grip to drag it with and waited for Luna to say goodbye to her father, then together they made their way out onto the busy platform.

Smoke glittered everywhere and people rushed about this way and that. Ginny recognised a few people from Hogwarts, but most were Muggles who had no idea of the secret world that lay just beyond platform 9, and just before platform 10. Xenophillius watched them from the door of the waiting room as they approached the barrier. They looked back at him, but he was swatting at something invisible next to him, so Ginny held tight to her trunk, and pushed on the barrier.

As usual she slid straight through onto platform nine and three quarters where the scarlet steam train was waiting for them. Hundreds of students were saying last goodbyes, and the girls had to fight through the crowds to get to the doors of the train, and when they finally managed to climb aboard, it took them about 10 minutes to find an empty compartment. They helped each other put their luggage up in the rack, and then collapsed onto their seats. Ginny was starting to feel sick with apprehension about Hogwarts this year – something that never happened. It was so unfair that Snape should be the headmaster, but ot was obvious that Voldemort would want someone on the inside working at Hogwarts. She just hoped most of the old teachers were still there as well.

Just before eleven, when the numbers on the platform were thinning and people were bustling around madly in the corridor outside, the compartment door slid open and Neville entered. Ginny breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of him. His friendly round face was slightly red and glistened with a thin layer of sweat suggesting that he had had to run to make it on time. Sure enough, just as he took his seat, the bell tolled eleven and the steam train let off a great hoot. People on the platform were waving madly at their children, shouting last-second commands, most looked terrified to be leaving their children – but they had no choice, education was now compulsory. Neville pulled a newspaper out of his trunk, then threw it up onto the rack next to Ginny's. A photo of Snape covered the front page.  
"Can't believe that git's in charge." Neville spat catching Ginny staring at their new headmaster. "After what he did. It's disgusting."

"Yeah. But what can we do? I mean, obviously we go, we try to keep up morale…support Harry in every way that we can…but if he's the head, we aren't going to get away with anything." Ginny whispered. She had a crawling feeling up her back that they were being eavesdropped on. Luna looked up from the quibbler she had been reading to join in.  
"Dumbledore's army?" she offered in a polite dreamy voice as though asking them if they wanted a bertie bots every flavour bean. "We could run that again. It was fun."  
"Harry led that." Neville said, slouching down a little in his seat. "And I guess he won't be attending this year." He added, looking even more depressed.  
"We could do it." Ginny said suddenly. "You could Neville. You're in his year, you've been in the same lessons…you're good at that stuff – yes you are!" She said getting more and more enthusiastic about the idea.  
"No Ginny…" he sighed. "I'm not-"  
"What? Not what Neville?" she snapped.  
"Harry." He said leaning back and looking past her out of the window. "I can't do it."  
Ginny decided to drop it for now. But she wasn't letting it go. Dumbledore's army would fight again. This time it would fight for Harry.

_**Sorry I know this chapters a bit rushed and crap, but I have an exam on Tuesday and limited time so I just wanted to give you something :P I'll refine it later…promise :D review please…love you all!**_


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